Timber construction leaves its footprint in Innsbruck
AEvery 40 seconds, 40 cubic meters of wood grow back in the Austrian forest – and thus the amount that is needed for a single-family house made of wood. proHolz Tirol would like to illustrate this process with the new wooden sculpture “Footprint”, which will be on display until mid-June. 40m3 Wood from near-natural and sustainably managed Tyrolean forests, stacked to form a cuboid measuring 4.4 mx 5.4 mx 2.9 m, dominates the square in front of the Tyrolean State Theater. “Tyrol is a land of wood,” said Innsbruck’s mayor Georg Willi at the presentation and promised that more wood construction should also be implemented in the city. It is important that the framework conditions for timber construction are adapted. For example, subsidies or regulations on fire protection must be improved in order to promote building with wood. “By using the raw material wood, not only boards are produced, but also the forest is used sustainably and maintained at the same time,” explains State Forest Director Josef Fuchs. 41 percent of Tyrol is covered by forest. In addition to its economic function, the forest has numerous other functions, “including protection against natural hazards,” says Fuchs.
Protect the climate, use wood
Building with wood is good for the climate in several ways. Wood still binds CO even when processed2, wooden buildings become forest-external carbon stores. Transport routes are avoided by increasingly rapid assembly of the components, and they can also be processed or burned at the end of their useful life and thus used to generate energy. “Building with wood also means active climate protection,” confirms Fuchs. Naturally, forest managers and local processing companies would also benefit from this. The associated creation of jobs in the industry also greets Helmut Troger, head of the timber industry specialist group in the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce. “Everything is at home in Tyrol, from small businesses for house builders to large companies that play on the international market.” Even under the currently difficult conditions for the construction industry, you can feel a trend towards timber construction, says proHolz Tirol CEO Manfred Saurer: “The love of wood is developing in the right direction.”
– image sources –
- Photo 3 ©: proholz Alexschmidt.at
- Image 2: proholz Alexschmidt.at
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